Gansabhauet

So I heard about a pretty...interesting tradition today. I was going to babysit our nieces and nephew and Andi's mom told me that there was something going on in a nearby city. I didn't quite understand what she meant, but I thought I did. She said something about animals and held her hand up at about face level and then did a swishing motion. I thought she was telling me how big the animals are. Then she said that, though I might like to see it, it might scare the kids. I wondered, "Would the kids really be afraid of big animals? I would have thought it was really cool. Maybe it's like a circus!" Anyway, I ended up not going.

That night when Andi got back, I asked him what was going on. His Mom had kept saying the word "Gans" which sounds a lot like "ganz" (meaning 'a lot'). I learned that Gans means goose and what was happening was a traditional...game I guess that is kind of like pinatas with real animals. ("abhauet" kind of means beheading or chopping off) They hang a goose upside-down (the goose is already dead) and then blindfold one person at a time with a big sun mask and give them one of those skinny jousting swords, then they swing it around and whoever chops the goose's head off wins and gets to keep the goose!

Now I understand why the kids might not have liked it. I just wonder about the history of this tradition and I think it's hilarious...and a bit gruesome. Here is a picture of the "executioner."

Swiss Cows and Smurf Mushrooms

Andi and I went to Flueeli today to watch the cows come down from the mountains. It was fantastic even though we didn't get to see the whole things. This is when the farmers dress up their cows with big flowery hats and their biggest, fanciest bells and walk them down from the tops of the mountains to the lower valleys for winter. I was laughing when I saw some of the "Aelpler" (the ones walking the cows) dressed in traditional folk costumes and textingon their cell phones. One cow decided she would rather walk on the sidewalk and came walking straight toward Andi and I. I tookthis great opportunity to take some pictures and Andi wisely pulled me out of the way before I became part of the show. I had a great time!

After seeing the cows, we went up hiking with Andi's grandpa in the mountains while he went to collect mushrooms. He's 87 years old and can easily out-hike any of us. We found lots of blueberries (there aren't any bears to compete with here) and it was a perfect day. On our way home, Andi spotted some red and white mushrooms along the side of the road! I'd never seen them before and was so excited. You can't eat them of course, but they make great pictures! I hope we can go hiking in the high mountains again soon.

It's one of my favorite places. I'm especially excited to go snow-shoeing there this winter. Yay for mountains!

New BYU Graduate

Well, I did it! I received my diploma in the mail and I am officially a BYU graduate with a BA in European Studies. So!...now what?

I'm looking for a job right now and waiting for my visa to go through so that I can start working. It's been fairly difficult considering that I'm in another country, searching for jobs in another language and nobody understands what "European Studies" means. On top of that I don't do a great job explaining it. I usually say, "So...it's a lot of history and political science and stuff." Wow. Impressive.

I'm not qualified for most of the available jobs here because of Switzerland's apprenticeship system. Every position requires specific training. I'm not even qualified to work in a department store! The other day I was feeling frustrated and said, "Andi, the only job I'm qualified for is an apple-picker in an orchard. I'm like one of those migratory immigrant workers who do what no one else will do. (thinking...) Wait, I AM a migratory immigrant worker!" So it's been a great experience.

I didn't ever say what my new calling is! I'm the first councilor in the Young Women's presidency! The entire presidency and all of our girls (all two of them that is) are American. It's going to be so much fun. One of the girls came up to me and said, "How is it supposed to be fun with two girls and three teachers?" I told her not to worry about it and said that I was by myself for a year at a time three times in Young Women's, so we can work it out.

Here is a picture of our fantastic car that we got for CHF 1,500 (an unheard of fantastic price, especially considering it's newer and better than our last car and $ 1,000 cheaper) and of Andi's parents' house where we're staying until we get a place of our own. Have a great week!

Our First Few Weeks in Switzerland

Well, we made it! We're here in Switzerland and things are going well for us. The weather is beautiful (though I can only say that because I like the rain as much as the sunshine) and the smells of the forest and the farms help me to feel right at home. I love hearing the tinkling bells of the cows and sheep, and I have a beautiful church just around the corner that chimes the time away for me. Andi is in his third week with his internship as an electrical engineer and he is loving it. I really think it's the perfect occupation for him.

We finished building our dressers yesterday, so I've finally been able to organize and am just about finished getting our things put away. Of course, most of our belongings will remain in boxes since we will (hopefully) be moving to our own place very soon. We are living with Andi's parents right now and are very grateful for their kindness, but I don't think any married couple should ever feel comfortable living at either parents' house. All we are really waiting on is my finding a job (no pressure, right?). I've found that that's much easier said that done. I've got several ideas for what I could do, but I'm beginning to feel like that's as far as I can get. My greatest handicap is that I can't speak German well enough yet and so I have to avoid any job that would require me to speak the native language here. Needless to say, that limits my prospects significantly.

My German is rapidly improving here (or so I keep telling myself) and I can understand everyone fairly easily. I've begun studying German each day and when I babysit Andi's nieces and nephew, they always give me a lesson and a few pointers. They teach me more than anyone else, actually. My brain seems to be separating High German and Swiss German fairly well. For a person who has to see how a word is written in order to remember it though, an unwritten language takes a little extra effort--and imagination!

The ward here is incredible. It is very solid and many of it's members are young couples and American families. All of my closest friends speak English and the American families all want to take me in to make sure that I adjust well to being here. I feel right at home in this ward. My first Sunday here, Andi got called to be the first counselor in the Elder's Quorum, and this last Sunday I got the best calling I could ever have asked for! Unfortunately, I told Mom and Dad that I want to tell them about it over the phone, so I'll have to wait until after I talk to them on Saturday to let you all know what it is. I can hardly wait to tell you! (Sorry for the cliff-hanger.)

Tomorrow is my last day doing the paper route that I've been doing for the last two weeks for Andi's mom while she went to Austria. Andi's sister just had her baby there. I've enjoyed the route, but running around for two hours in the dark was a little bit of a challenge. (Yes, I'm still afraid of the dark.) I learned that spiders love to put up webs all around mailboxes at night and that I should always run with my mouth closed. I don't know how nutritious spiderwebs are, but I didn't feel that great after eating a few. I also found after changing the route a little that certain houses I used to deliver to in the dark had extra surprises waiting for me when I delivered to them after the sun had risen. For example, I learned that one particular house has a large German Shepherd in their yard without a fence or chain. He didn't look like he appreciated my being there, but I had never been attacked before I knew he was there...

So today I think I'll try to make bread. I've never had much success with it in the past, but maybe the Swiss climate and altitude will favor my baking skills. I'll put pictures up of our car and house soon. It's raining today (to put it mildly), but I might be able to do it on Saturday. The thunder storm we had last night was actually the loudest I've ever been in, and I know for a fact that it lasted all night, right up until Andi and I opened the door to do newspapers. It has really been a beautiful day.

I miss you all and hope you are doing well. We will update our blog at least once every two weeks from now on. We look forward to also hearing how each of you are doing. Have a great weekend!

About to Begin

Just two more weeks until Andi and I begin our life together in Switzerland. Andi had to come over a month before I was finished at BYU, and I've made a two month detour to take some classes at Cambridge University in England. It's been a great experience and I've learned quite a lot, but three months is such a long time to be apart! We met up in London at the end of June and spent three days together before my program started, but have not seen each other besides that. I fly home the 21st, which is the weekend of our anniversary. I can hardly wait.

We'll be staying with Andi's parents until we can find our own place. Andi has been accepted to do an internship in preparation for his schooling to become and electrical engineer. The internship will last one year and then schooling begins. I'm not sure yet where I'll work. I've considered working for Lufthansa airlines or something so that we and our families can travel more easily. Maybe I'll start into politics. I will be trying to write though. I may start with a...well I suppose it may be a fantasy novel. They seem to be popular nowadays, and I'm starting to get some ideas.

We're excited to be over here in Europe. I know we can do a lot of good over here and I can't wait to get started. We'll come back to the States whenever we feel like we should, and we hope to travel there often and bring family and friends over here. Life is fantastic. We will miss all of you while we're away and are grateful for all of your love and support. We'll keep you updated on life as a Swiss!